Gov. Newsom blasts Republicans, Pres. Trump for 'feigning' election fraud in CA recall
"We're four days out, the election hasn't even happened, and now they're all feigning election fraud."
SACRAMENTO -- Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday blasted Republicans and former President Trump for "feigning" election fraud in the California recall election.
"It's just a remarkable thing. We're four days out, the election hasn't even happened, and now they're all feigning election fraud," Newsom told reporters in Sacramento after casting his own ballot at the California Museum.
"It's just an extension of the big lie, the 'stop the steal,'" he added. "It's just a remarkable thing."
RELATED: CA Election: Gov. Newsom says recall process has been 'weaponized' by Republicans
On Wednesday, GOP frontrunner Larry Elder told reporters that he believes "there might very well be shenanigans" in the recall election, despite there being no evidence of any wrongdoing in the voting process. Elder's campaign also has a link on their website that asks voters to fill out a form to report incidents of voter fraud.
The day before, former president Donald Trump also promoted the baseless claims. During an interview on Newsmax, Trump predicted that "it's a rigged election."
"It's probably rigged. They're sending out all ballots, it's all a -- the ballots are, you know, mail out, mail in ballots," Trump said, adding that it will help Democrats win.
RELATED: In final week, CA recall election comes down to race between Gov. Newsom and Larry Elder
"The one thing they're good at is rigging elections. So I predict it's a rigged election," Trump added.
VIDEO: CA Recall: VP Harris campaigns for Gov. Newsom in Bay Area, GOP's Larry Elder begins bus tour
A new poll from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies released on Friday showed the recall is likely to fail by wide margins. 60% of likely voters are against the recall compared to 39% of voters who say they are in favor of it.
The margins align with the California electorate at large. In the state, Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.
WATCH: California Recall: Pres. Barack Obama featured in campaign ad urging Californians to vote 'no'
On Friday, Newsom also called out former President Trump for continuing to perpetuate claims of voter fraud.
"It's not surprising, but once again disappointing," Newsom said, "That you see folks even here in California -- including the president himself, who asserted similar comments a few weeks back -- make such outrageous statements with no basis in evidence whatsoever."
See more stories and videos related to the 2021 California recall election here.
